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America's first Vice President, John Adams, described the office as "the most insignificant office that ever the Invention of Man contrived or his Imagination conceived". When Daniel Webster was offered the nomination of Vice President, he said "I do not intend to be buried until I am dead". Perhaps the most succinct assessment of the office was given by Texan John Nance Garner, a former and powerful Speaker of The House of Representatives and Vice President under FDR for two full terms, who claimed that the office wasn't "worth a bucket of piss".
In many ways, the office of Vice President of The United States can be seen as the most singular indication of the noble goals and yet practical failure of The United States Constitution, and its fate was sealed before the 19th Century even began. While there might have once been a chance for the Vice Presidency to have been an office of viable contribution to the functioning of The United States' government, there are five key moments in early American history which, I believe, combined to relegate the office itself to impotence and insignificance only moderated by either the good will of any particular President or by the vacation of the office of President and subsequent elevation of a Vice President to that office. The first of these moments was the creation of the office itself (1787). The idea was that it would be held by a major statesman, the candidate for President who came in second and who would, for the greater good of his nation, join the administration of the victor. Yet within this idea was still recognition of the reality of opposition and the understanding that you would not want to give the primary challenger of the President any real power with which to work against the Chief Executive. Thus was an office created in which the primary requirement was, apparently, to have a pulse.
While, primarily because of their revolutionary credentials, Washington's Vice President, John Adams succeeded him as President, and then Adams' Vice President, Thomas Jefferson succeeded him, the office of Vice President has not been seen as a natural stepping stone to the Presidency. After Jefferson, and after the adoption of the 12th Amendment to The Constitution (which provided for the direct election of the Vice President) the only Vice Presidents who have been elected to be President WITHOUT FIRST having already assumed the office through the death or resignation of the previous holder of that office have been Martin Van Buren (1836), Richard Nixon (1968), and George H. W. Bush (1988). Furthermore, of those three men, Richard Nixon was not the current Vice President when he was elected, having lost to John Kennedy in 1960. Thus, the two men after Jefferson who were elected to the office of President while holders of the office of Vice President served only two terms between them for a total of eight years, and the three men combined for 4 terms and less than 14 years out of the whole of the history of The United States. By contrast, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan (the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 15th Presidents) all served as Secretary of State and served as President for eight terms and a total of 32 years, while several others served as Ambassadors or envoys to other sovereign nations. So, we can see that diplomatic credentials have been seen as better qualifying a candidate to be President than serving as Vice President has been.
The second moment in history's conspiracy to insure the insignificance of the office of Vice President was George Washington's view that the office was a part of the Legislative branch of the government rather than part of the Executive branch (1789). As a result, Washington not only did not include Adams in his cabinet meetings or consult him very frequently on matters within the Executive Branch. He believed, in fact, that he was not ALLOWED to do so as part of The Constitution's requirements for separation of powers. It is impossible to minimize the influence Washington had on establishing the precedents and operational functions of The United States government as established by The Constitution. If any man in history had it in his power to make from nothing a relevant constitutional office of the Vice Presidency, it was Washington; but he did not do so. As aware as the Revolutionary generation was that they were making history, they seemed to have had no awareness of the importance of the precedents which they were establishing every day as part of a continuity of history which would last for centuries.
In many ways, they were making it up as they went along and the openness of the Experiment they had initiated would have permitted them to follow almost any vision that they could have put into practice.
The third moment in this sorry tale was the decision of The Senate to forbid the Vice President from being part of the debates and deliberations of their body (1789). We can never know how much of this decision was inspired by the personal rancor and dislike felt by many members of The Senate for the person of John Adams and how much was an inevitable course which would have been followed no matter who had been The Senate's first presiding officer.
In the end, it makes little difference. While Washington did not consider the Vice President a member of the Executive Branch, The Senate did not consider the officeholder a contributing part of their august body or, therefore, of the Legislative branch of government. While a man with more people skills and a more stable temperament might have been able to make the Senators accept the Vice President as a full member of The Senate, John Adams was not that man. As Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, "It is to be sure a punishment to hear other men talk five hours every day and not be at liberty to talk at all myself, especially as more than half I hear appears to me very young, inconsiderate and inexperienced." If Washington had made the Vice President insignificant as a member of the Executive branch, The Senate itself made him insignificant as a member of the Legislative branch. All of this, of course, reaches new heights of irony in the person of our former Vice President, Dick Cheney, who has used this 'confusion' to declare himself the beneficiary of the rights and privileges of both branches while, at the same time, free of the obligations or restraints upon either branch. The burden of the fourth moment in our tragic history of the establishment of the role of the Vice Presidency falls squarely on the shoulders of the second holder of that office, Thomas Jefferson (1797).
Adams, for all of his faults of personality, truly cared for what was best for the nation he served. He did not plan to treat Jefferson, as Vice President, as he had been treated himself (or, as Tom Lehrer put so humorously in his satirical song about Hubert Humphrey and the treatment of Humphrey as Vice President by Lyndon Johnson as President, "I'll do unto you as they did unto me."). As Joseph Ellis tells so well in his Pulitzer Prize winning book 'Founding Brothers', Adams fully desired to work with Jefferson to create a bipartisan administration which utilized both of their talents and skills (Chapter Five: The Collaborators).
He wanted Jefferson to be a functioning member of his cabinet and an active participant in foreign policy efforts. Jefferson, influenced greatly by the advice of James Madison, chose to be a party man and watch the Adams administration fail without him. Jefferson, at this time, chose the good of his party over the good of his nation. After Adams' desire to give the office a 'place at the table', it wasn't until Warren G. Harding took office in 1921 that a President again made the choice to include his Vice President in his cabinet meetings, and it wasn't until Richard Nixon's service under Dwight Eisenhower that a Vice President was given a substantial and public role by the President but, in all cases, up to and including the present, the role and power of a particular Vice President has been dependent upon their President to give it to them.
If the damage done to the office of Vice President was not already irreversible by the election of 1800, that election itself ensured that it was permanent, and the blame for it can be placed on the personage of Aaron Burr. If one wants to make the case that the Adams' Vice Presidency was not a standard to judge by because of the newness of the office, or that the Jefferson Vice Presidency cannot be used because he was of an opposition political position to his President, then there is no excuse for the damage done to the office by Burr before he was even inaugurated, damage so great, in fact, that the first substantive change to The US Constitution was made to prevent the circumstances from ever again even being possible through the adoption of the 12th Amendment. For the election of 1800, the supporters of Jefferson and his Republican / Anti-Federalist movement conspired to maneuver the election so that their candidates would end up holding the offices of both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. While they succeeded in the goal of having all of their electors vote for both Jefferson and Burr, they apparently never considered the ramifications of this actually happening. They believed that somehow, without any need to orchestrate it as well, some random elector would cast his vote for Jefferson but not cast their second vote for Burr. The conspiracy, however, was too well planned and the soldiers followed their marching orders without deviation…and Jefferson and Burr ended up exactly tied in the electoral vote totals.
At this point, a good party man would have fallen into line and worked to finish what had been started, but Burr was an opportunist whose personal desires completely overshadowed any belief he may have had in the greater good. When the election went to The House of Representatives, Burr fought to win the Presidency for himself. He almost managed to pull the feat off as it took 36 ballots in The House before Hamilton intervened and one member chose to abstain. Well, after that, what President would trust the man he was stuck with as Vice President? And so, Burr alienated himself from any role in Jefferson's first administration and The Constitution was changed…and changed VERY quickly.
The new nation went through only four elections, three administrations and 12 years before the first substantial flaw in the design of the governmental structure of The United States had to be addressed. 46 men have been dumped into the graveyard of The Constitution, including 2 men who each served under two different Presidents (George Clinton under Jefferson and Madison, and John C. Calhoun under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson). Except for the ones who eventually became President themselves or who have served in a person's own lifetime, how many people can name even one of them? The Vice Presidency is a unique office with a unique role in government. If we want evidence of the lack of experience which burdened the men who created The Constitution, all we need do is look at the Office of The Vice President of The United States. However, if we do look at it, we will have done more than most people ever do.
P.S.– It might also be of interest, for anyone who wants to consideration how truly UNimportant the office of Vice President has been to our nation over the entire course of its history, for me to point out that, while we have never had any real period without a President since Washington first took the oath of office in 1889, between the years 1812 (when the office was vacated upon the death of Vice President George Clinton) and 1974 (when the office was vacated by the elevation of Vice President Gerald Ford to the Office of President) (a period of 162 years), there were 18 different times when we were without a Vice President totaling more than 426 months (35.5 years, an average of 23.666 months per vacancy). This includes two periods when the office was vacant for 47 months (out of a 48 month term of office), but does NOT include any periods when the holder of the office just left Washington and ignored his role in government (as, for example, Richard Mentor Johnson did during Van Buren's administration).
As an indication of how little impact the absence of a Vice President has meant to the functions of our government, I would simply ask how many of you reading this have ever even wondered just how often the office has even been vacant because there WAS no holder of the office?
As a point of useless trivia from an infomaniac, did you know that the first Vice President to die in office (George Clinton) died about a year before the end of his second term (Clinton had served one term as President Jefferson's second Vice President and his second term as Vice President was consecutive to his first when he was elected to be Vice President under Jefferson's successor, President James Madison, for Madison's first term. For Madison's second term of office, he ran and served with Vice President Elbridge Gerry, who THEN proceeded to die in office after about a year and a half into his term. As a result, President James Madison served with a different Vice President for each of his two terms in office and neither of them lived to complete their own terms.
Rhys M. Blavier
Romayor, Texas
"Truth, Justice and Honor… but, above all Honor"
Thank you for reading this article. Please read my other articles and let me know what you think. I am writing them not to preach or to hear myself think but to try to create dialogs, debates and discussions on the nature of our government and how we can build upon and improve it based on what we have seen and learned over the course of the 225 years of The American Experiment.


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The 2015 Toyota Alphard will likely be an alternate minivan from this group. Japanese purchasers with it's going to have larger resolution of choosing their prime selections. This automobile may have two varieties – known as Velfire and Alphard Type Gold LL. Toyota has returned to its inside half and outer floor so we will anticipate new factors of curiosity, badging, trims and flooring coverings. Likewise, execution shall be supported, so we may have new determinations. In any case, two varieties shall be essentially the identical, with slight changes, for essentially the most half within the designs, each inside and outer floor.
A portion of the traits shall be stored from previous fashions, nonetheless new Alphard is required to be returned to and lots of people new advances will likely be included. It is regular that new 2015 Alphard might be extraordinarily intensive and agreeable minivan for big households. Likewise, lengthy outings will not be points with its solace and infotainment extra objects.
The new Toyota Alphard will likely be actually extravagant automobile, no matter on its dimension, and that is in its class, in addition to a rule. Inside the automobile, seats will likely be customizable, each driver's and vacationers'. Entryways shall be outfitted with double distant management energy for higher sliding. Inner half will likely be roomy, and 10-inch LCD display will dangle from again housetop. Additionally, we may have twin moon high. Solace will likely be supported with refined calfskin seats, triple zone programmed ambiance management with mud channel and Nanoe air cleaning capability. Security can be moreover enhanced for the brand new 2015 Toyota Alphard. Better air movement must deliver higher utilization charges.
One of the precept adjustments for the 2015 Alphard to the previous mannequin of this automobile is its leght. This automobile is longer, extra in depth and roomier. Along these traces, that strategies, Toyota wanted to create all of the extra compelling drivetrains for this automobile. There will probably be two diversifications of motors supplied for the 2015 Toyota Alphard – first is P.A-l A-cyllinder powertrain that would convey 167 pull. Displays on the furthest finish of worth line can be supplied with O.H-liter V6 which may create 276 hp by entrance wheels. In any case, AWD will probably be moreover advertisment.

subset: commoncrawl


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Oakland, Berkeley, And East Bay News, Events, Restaurants, Music, & Arts
About three-quarters of the way through Waist Deep, the hero of the piece an indestructible ex-convict who calls himself O2 (2 Fast 2 Furious star Tyrese Gibson) peers out through the swirling smoke and the bloody mayhem of an urban killing ground and experiences a revelation. "Somethin' ain't right," he observes. It's just about the truest moment we get in a movie where so many things ain't right that it's hard to keep up the count. Between its ridiculous lapses in dramatic logic and its ever-shifting attitudes toward men, women, and murder, this has to be one of the sloppiest crime thrillers ever to reach the screen. It's as if the co-writers Vondie Curtis Hall (who also directed) and Darin Scott knocked out their drafts on separate planets, then e-mailed them to a nine-year-old for rewrite.
Aside from its annoying array of extreme close-ups full-frame shots of the characters' mouths, noses, and eyes Waist Deep's primary conceit is the claim that it's a contemporary Bonnie and Clyde, the kind of socially and sexually charged cops-and-robbers story in which the romantic fugitives win the hearts of the public and the enmity of the authorities before going out in a blaze of glory. The alleged stand-ins here are O2, whose son, Junior, has been kidnapped in a street-gang carjacking, and sullen but sizzling Los Angeles streetwalker Coco (Meagan Good), who's on the gangstas' payroll. Supposedly thrown together by mutual need, they go on a 24-hour crime spree to raise money for the boy's $100,000 ransom and Coco's emancipation from the Life, while a series of hip-hop hits blasts away on the soundtrack. Apparently, it occurs to neither of these inadvertent felons that shaking down the hideouts and robbing the safe deposit boxes of two rival street gangs might get them into some serious trouble. Or that ransom payments may be completely beside the point. They also don't seem to grasp that stealing a cache of jewels from one of the kingpins a one-eyed villain called Big Meat (played by rapper the Game), then trying to sell his own merch right back to him a few hours later, via an intermediary, may not be the wisest career choice in the world. This guy's specialty, after all, is chopping arms off disloyal underlings. But then, this is a movie in which the tough-guy hero can slam the heroine whom he doesn't know very well yet up against a wall and not thirty seconds later punch another guy's lights out with the warning: "Don't ever put your hands on a woman."
Bonnie and Clyde? In case we don't get the idea, a convenience-store clerk who encounters the daring couple late in their run, marvels at their TV-induced notoriety: "You're the new Bonnie and Clyde. How about an autograph?"
How about a dose of consistency? Like dozens of action movies before it, Waist Deep makes a half-hearted pass at social responsibility with a couple of speeches about the curse of street drugs, the scourge of violent gangs, and the failure of city authorities to look out for the "homeland security" of its own residents. In later scenes, however, it can't help fawning over the fruits of crime in the 'hood: Despite what may be good intentions, these filmmakers present the huge black Hummers and the flashy Rolexes of the bad guys, their piles of cash and their awesome heavy artillery, like the items on a wish list, or full-page ads in a glossy magazine. O2 may be righteous in his revenge and pure in his love for his son, and Coco may have the perfect booty, but it's Big Meat who owns all the stuff people covet. What we have here is a tacit endorsement of greedy gangsta life, vaguely disguised within a morality play.
But then, other contradictions run rampant too. How do a well-publicized woman from South Los Angeles who says she's never even seen the Sunset Strip, and an eight-year-old boy both traveling in a stolen car manage to cross into Mexico? How does an ex-convict just a few weeks out of San Quentin land a job as a pistol-packing security guard? Who would figure that a lone fugitive surrounded by twenty police cars and two helicopters can simply hit the gas and drive, unimpeded, off the end of a dock? Are we really to believe that O2 and Coco can pull off three loud, screaming bank robberies in one afternoon, all in the same city, without seeing a cop or suffering a scratch? As Bonnie and Clyde could tell you, somethin' ain't right.
Contact the author of this piece, send a letter to the editor, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
News - September 18, 4:00 AM
News - September 14, 4:00 AM


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MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin company that makes packaged salads is recalling nearly seven tons of products because they contain onions that are the subject of a separate recall.
Don't miss these Health stories
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Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring.
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Milwaukee-based Garden Fresh Foods makes packaged pasta salads and chicken salads. The company is recalling 13,600 pounds of products that contain onions possibly contaminated by the bacterium Listeria.
The onions are from supplier Gills Onions LLC. The Oxnard, Calif., company launched its own recall last month due to contamination concerns.
The Garden Fresh products have the establishment number "P-17256" or "Est. 17256" inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection. A list of the specific recalled products is available on the USDA website.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the products, which are sold nationwide.
Antiseptic wipes from China pulled in U.S.
Hamburger recalled for salmonella; 33 sick in 7 states
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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After making a grand return with their much-loved eighth studio album 'Distance Inbetween' back in 2016, The Coral are back with the announcement of their next LP, due out later this year.
The new full-length 'Move Through The Dawn' was self-produced by the band alongside Rich Turvey, is being previewed by the lead single 'Sweet Release, and is due out on the 17th August via Ignition Records.
Check out the new video for 'Sweet Release, directed by James Slater, in the player and see the album's full tracklisting below.
'Move Through The Dawn' Tracklist:
1. Eyes Like Pearls
2. Reaching Out For A Friend
3. Sweet Release
4. She's A Runaway
5. Strangers In The Hollow
6. Love Or Solution
7. Eyes Of The Moon
8. Undercover Of The Night
9. Outside My Window
10. Stormbreaker
11. After The Fair


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Christmas decorations light the streets. Malls are full. Christmas music fills the air.
But this year, there is a somber undercurrent to the celebration. We will all hug our children a little harder. Our hearts will be in our throats as they go out to play. After the horror of Newtown, we remember how precious and how vulnerable they are in a country that is drowning in guns.
Some good news can be told, however. Violent crime, teenage pregnancy, binge drinking and cigarette smoking are down. Yet, one in five children in the U.S. is now living in poverty — up dramatically over the course of the past decade. More are obtaining a college degree, but more find themselves unable to afford higher education. And too many are at risk from guns and violence. We can do better for them.
This year, the real story of Christmas — the mass we celebrate on the birth of Christ — has more power than ever.
The real story isn't about a holiday; it is about a holy day. It's about two parents summoned from their home, forced to return to register so the occupier could count them. They had no place to stay. One brief look and the innkeeper announced there was no room at the inn. The baby was born in the cold, in a working barn, set in a rough manger on a straw floor. This was a child at risk.
Like today, those were not normal times. Poverty and violence were spread through the land. The sufferers began to expect a change. Prophets predicted that a mighty messiah would come — a king of kings — to free the oppressed.
But this messiah wasn't a powerful warrior wielding mighty armaments. He led disciples, not armies. He sought to preach good news to the poor. He was the Prince of Peace, not a man in arms. He never lifted a sword nor carried a shield, never held an office nor amassed a fortune, yet his gospel overturned an empire and transformed the world. He taught us the power of love and hope and charity.
Christmas should be a time when we hear this message. Faith is stronger than the sword. We do not have to accept a nation where 6-year-olds and their protective teachers are mowed down by a sick man armed with an assault rifle. We don't have to let the gun lobby keep us from insisting that no gun should be sold without a background check.
We don't have to accept a country of Gilded Age inequality where poor children go without adequate nutrition, where promising students cannot afford the education that they have earned.
We don't have to emulate Rome and seek to police the world.
This Christmas, let each of us take a moment for the real story.
Let us take stock, not of the presents we give or get, but of how we treat the young in the dawn of life, the poor in the pit of life, the elderly in the dusk of life, the stranger on the Jericho Road. Let's commit ourselves to bringing peace to Bethlehem.
This year, more than ever, we will hug our children and hold them close and remember that they are the true measure of our wealth. This year, we will remember that the presents the Wise Men brought weren't the real gift; the real gift was the child himself, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Merry Christmas, everybody.
Keep up with Rev. Jackson and the work of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org.


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DeploymentBy Gary Bolles
Technology: Tablet PCs
Capture and use data more efficiently with a pen-based portable PC? Sounds great on (digital) paper.
The tablet computer has been a gleam in the eye of technology champions for decades. The promise of a seamless marriage of flat-panel hardware and flexible software has long been at the forefront of many visionaries' image of the ultimate information-consumption machine. Let people mimic the way they capture and read information from a paper pad, the thinking went, and productivity will shoot skyward.
The greatest strategic value for the organization would come, it was hoped, from capturing data that might otherwise be difficult to use, if not lost entirely. If you can get more data in digital format, you have a chance at beginning to whittle down the 80 percent or so of unstructured data held by just about every corporation, much of which may not be on a computer at all (see "Order Out of Chaos," May 2003). Think of all the paper notepads you've filled in your professional life, and how often you went back and sifted through those notes for a usable thought. Then multiply that by all the conventional notetakers in the organization, and think about the monumental task of trying to search colleagues' notes as well. That's a lot of unusable dataespecially when one idea-needle in that yellowing paper haystack might be just the thought your company needs to solve a thorny problem.
In other cases, a new corporate mandate might require specific data to be captured and reported. Traditional paper-based forms typically result in wasted time in the course of translating text from paper to typed input. So why not use tablet computers to make sure data is captured efficiently from the start? That was one of the main drivers for Ashley Wharton, IT director for the Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey. Capturing state-mandated patient information with their previous, proprietary pen computers was tough for the nurses. "We wanted a way to make life a little easier, so they're not bogged down collecting this kind of data," he said.
The other much-touted opportunity for tablet PCs is to support more flexible collaboration between workers. Early testing has focused on tablet-based applications designed to allow people to share whiteboard software that lets wireless workgroups simultaneously update a graphic under discussion. Other software is intended to help structure the brainstorming process, using so-called mindmaps to develop linked outlines of ideas. "When people are able to interact with their PCs in a more effective way, there really is an overall increase in productivity," insists Sumit Agnihotry, mobile products manager for Acer America Corp., which makes a line of tablet PCs.
Ask Your Business Constituents:
What business processes could be made more efficient if we captured data and graphic information more efficiently?
Ask Your CTO:
How much more data could we potentially capture if key workers used tablet PCs?
Ask Key Business Workgroups:
What kinds of collaborative processes do you now use that are heavily oriented to graphics and whiteboards?
Already using older versions of tablet-based PCs? You're the most likely candidate for the new model. Everyone else, stand in line.
Tablet PCs are best for companies that already use portable computers with a similar design, such as proprietary tablets used for capturing data. Medical applications, retail stock management and the activities of delivery personnel all involve business processes that match what tablet PCs are good at today. The structured data input steps of, say, pharmaceuti- cals sales or warehouse inventory tracking include heavily forms-based input that limits the need for much typing, and they rely on comprehensive databases that can be stored on a tablet or accessed through a wireless connection.
"It really comes down to what the workflow is," says John Keane, president of systems integration firm ArcStream Solutions Inc. "What kind of information are [users] capturing and processing?" Companies that might have considered PDAs, but decided the screen's real estate was too cramped or the device's storage was too anemic, may also find tablet PCs a more desirable alternative.
But tablet PCs have yet to prove their worth in the general white-collar office environment. Though the promise of improved productivity is compelling, most tablet PC notetaking and collaboration applications are little more than early attempts. It may well be that companies heavily dependent on creative, collaborative processes, such as ad agencies and architectural firms, can benefit from the direct pen input and shared workspaces that tablet PCs provide. Is there a single piece of software driving user productivity? "I don't know if there's one particular killer app, because people's jobs vary so much," says Kelly Berschauer, a tablet PC senior product manager at Microsoft. Few major deployments have yet occurred, so the digital jury is still out.
It's not just because the latest tablet PC offerings only came out late last year. Even when the data is captured, many companies haven't figured out how to manage it efficiently once it's stored somewhere. "The tablet gives you another tool to try to massage the data," says Ken Dulaney, vice president at Gartner Inc. "But it doesn't solve the underlying problem." If your company doesn't already astutely manage distributed, user-created data, adding tablets to the mix is likely to make life even more complicated.
Ask Your Business Process Modelers:
Here's an example of a business unit that might be able to use tablet PCs. How much could we improve its efficiency?
Ask Your CTO:
And what would we do with the data once we capture it?
Tell Your Users:
We haven't established the value of tablet PCs for our company yet, so if you buy one you may be on your own for support.
Take a pen-sensitive screen, add Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and a few nascent pen applications, and what do you call it? A start.
The origins of tablet-based computing follow a circuitous route, beginning with MIT researcher Ivan Sutherland's 1963 thesis on the Sketch Pad, an early pen input device. Before he joined Xerox PARC in the early 1970s, researcher Alan Kay conceived of the Dynabook, a flexible tablet he envisioned as a portable, interactive PC. In 1981, Roger Fidler, now director of the Institute for CyberInformation at Kent State University, put forth a vision of electronic newspapers on a digital tablet. And a wave of pen-based computers in the early 1990sremember companies like Slate and GRiD?wasted millions of dollars of venture capital on an unimpressed market. Why? "The proprietary stuff was god-awful expensive," said Gartner's Dulaney. "You couldn't get support, and companies were going out of business right and left."
Given how long it's taken for today's tablet technology to see the light of day, it's reasonable to wonder, why now?
It's tempting to say that with its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Microsoft has simply wished the tablet PC into existence in hopes of kickstarting the chicken-or-egg process of providing a platform for which software developers will create applications. But analysts maintain that tablet PCs really represent a number of technological trains arriving at the innovation station on a relatively tight timetable. Advances in flat-panel displays, microprocessors, disk storage and wireless networking all have incrementally contributed to their development. "It's really the continuing evolution of hardware," says Tom Bernhard, director of strategic product planning for Fujitsu PC Corp. "The biggest issue is, in the past, companies that wanted to implement a tablet solution had to do a lot of work, because the operating system didn't offer a complete package." For its part, Microsoft also uses the "e" word when talking about Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, which is built on top of the current version of XP. "It's not this huge learning curve to do something new," says Microsoft's Berschauer. "We call it an evolutionary step."
Are we ready to declare this the whiz-bang generation of tablet PCs? Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the Future, who's tracked the promise of tablet PCs, thinks not. "Personally, I think all the current devices bigger than PDAs are early-adopter artifacts," he says. Gartner's Dulaney agrees there's still substantial work to be done. "This is generation one of the tablet, and I would never expect generation one of any product to be great."
Ask Your CTO:
Does this equipment have enough power to support our critical mobile applications?
Ask Tablet PC Vendors:
Where are you planning to make near-term changes to the hardware, based on what you've learned to date?
Tell Interested Users:
We're going to need some time to determine where these might be useful in the company.
Should you be kicking the tablet's tires?
Despite some widely publicized initial sales figures that vendors said exceeded their expectations, analysts say most of these purchases reflected pent-up demand from traditional tablet computer users upgrading their older, proprietary systems as part of their standard technology cycles. Outside of these low-hanging fruit, it's not clear yet where to look for further growth in tablet PCs.
"Microsoft had made a lot of wild projections about [tablet PCs comprising] one third to one half of all notebooks sold in the first year" the tablet was issued, says Gartner's Dulaney. "What we found was that there was more need than a lot of the vendors thought there was, but not as much demand as Microsoft thought there was."
"Even today, if you look at who is buying these in large quantities, it's still the [existing] tablet users," admits Acer's Agnihotry. However, he maintains, "we expect the tablet PC to become more mainstream in the second half of this year."
Right now, depending on the vendor, tablet PCs cost about $300 to $500 more than a comparably equipped laptop. That's enough of a price pop to give some IT shops pause. But it shouldn't be so much of a difference as to keep IT shops from considering a few tablets in some well-chosen spots around the organization. The goal is to locate pockets of users whose requirements for pen-based input or group collaboration might lend themselves to a test run with off-the-shelf tablet PC hardware and software.
One component of your networking infrastructure that can help test the tablet PC's potential is Wi-Fi. Requiring collaborating teams to continually plug into a wired network during what can often be ad hoc meetings is probably limiting some of the chances for productivity gains. And since analysts claim that tablet PCs can make workers even more mobile than standard laptops, thanks to their ability to do double-duty as both pen and keyboard input devices, a wireless network also provides users greater access to corporate resources as they're moving around the office.
As with all new computing platforms, time will heal some of the tablet PC's initial wounds. For example, it's likely that the price penalty for a pen-sensitive screen will descend rapidly, and that corporations will find over the long term that the differential cost of a tablet PC will be minimal compared to a similarly equipped laptop.
More challenging will be the potential support costs of tablet PCsnot so much because they're more complex to use but because IT will have to work harder to make sure the applications are as simple as possible, and easy to use. Pen-based applications can only get better, but if they can't meet your needs off the shelf today, make sure you're taking a hard look at the costs of adapting that softwareif it's even possibleto your specific requirements. Otherwise, taking these tablets will create more headaches than they relieve.
Ask Tablet PC Vendors:
Show me some customers with needs like mine who have at least done the initial assessment of tablet PCs.
Ask Your IT Staff:
Where are the likely users within the organization who could pilot the use of a tablet PC in doing their daily work?
Tell Interested Users:
If you want a tablet PC, make sure you can use off-the-shelf applications, or else be prepared to pay for the necessary development and support work for us to adapt it to your needs.
The Ages of the
|The Ages of the Tablet
|Pen Computers
|Tablet PCs
|The Future
|Best For


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Affiliate Disclosure: We may earn commissions from purchases made through links in this post
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Last update on 2020-09-25 at 16:53 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API


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Katherine Heigl happily holds onto her baby bump while hitting the red carpet with her husband Josh Kelley at the CBS, CW, Showtime 2016 Summer TCA Tour Party held at the Pacific Design Center on Wednesday (August 10) in West Hollywood, Calif.
The 37-year-old pregnant actress was joined by her Doubt co-stars Laverne Cox and Dreama Walker, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom, The Odd Couple's Matthew Perry, Lindsay Sloane and Yvette Nicole Brown, and The Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Katherine Heigl
"Had the most wonderful day talking about my new show @doubtcbs," Katherine captioned with her Instagram post. "Can't wait for you all to see it! Thank you to my amazing man @joshbkelley for coming with me and showering me with love and support! �'��'��'�"
Also in attendance at the 2016 Summer TCA Tour Party were Life in Pieces stars Colin Hanks and Zoe Lister-Jones, Genius' Dermot Mulroney, Brenda Song and Odette Annable, Kevin Can Wait's Gary Valentine and Taylor Spreitler, Angel from Hell's Joey McIntyre, NCIS: Los Angeles' Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J and Daniela Ruah, Training Day's Lex Scott Davis, Bill Paxton, Drew Van Acker and Julie Benz, and Christine Lakin, Jodie Sweetin and Beverley Mitchell.
FYI: Katherine is wearing a Christian Siriano dress, Casadei shoes, a Lee Savage clutch, and jewelry by EF Collection, EFFY Jewelry, and Plukka.
65+ pictures inside of Katherine Heigl and others at the 2016 Summer TCA Tour Party…More Here! »


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We've focused on abdominals and legs — but mixing it up is getting more difficult, as footballers play with their clothes on. Nevertheless, we're going to try and praise the largest muscle on the human body: the butt, gluteus maximus.
A fine muscular specimen comes from South Korea's Kim Jung-Woo, above. He's sad about his team's loss to Uruguay. But we're not crying.
Thomas Mueller of Germany is wearing black shorts, which wouldn't be our preference for these purposes. But you get the idea, and you're glad that you do.
Again with the black shorts, this time from Dirk Kuyt of the Netherlands. Can't FIFA do something about this?
Thank God for Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez. Gluteal outlines with a heaping dose of man love!
And then I just keep coming back to the abs. Again. Saturday totally blew for any fans of Team USA, but there was a light at the end of our disappointing tunnel: Landon, Landon, Landon. Even a peak of upper glutes, if you want to justify this shot in today's roundup. Though I'd argue that no justification is necessary.
Okay, so what do you guys think: Is HINDsight enough to carry us through the week? Or are the shorts just ruining everything? And can we possibly ignore abs for the sake of variety? Maybe we should be focusing on something else. Totally open to suggestions here — this is, after all, a global endeavor.


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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - Western Tack
More for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
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Non-tactical loadout for D-Horse.
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Download of this product is subject to the PlayStation Network Terms of Service and our Software Usage Terms plus any specific additional conditions applying to this product. If you do not wish to accept these terms, do not download this product. See Terms of Service for more important information.
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See Health Warnings for important health information before using this product.
Library programs ©Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. exclusively licensed to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Software Usage Terms apply, See eu.playstation.com/legal for full usage rights.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ©2015 Konami Digital Entertainment. Published by Konami Digital Entertainment BV. Developed by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. Powerd By Wwise © 2006 - 2015 Audiokinetic Inc. All rights reserved. This software uses specially-designed fonts created under license from Fontworks Inc. Fontworks and font names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fontworks Inc.


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Maltese Settlement Issues
This section will provide details about the problems and every day realities which Maltese emigrants face.
A number of personalities and associations brought about forward the Maltese cultural identity both whilst abroad as well as on their return. This section is further enriched by a unique collection of migrants' experiences in general and a detailed description of Australia both in the past as well in the present.
Maltese migrants are challenged by some serious hardships and realities, amongst which one can easily identify:
Also of particular interest is the fact that the Maltese also ventured out in their own activities as the extract on Maltese Merchants in XVIII Century Spain highlights.
Malta passport applications 1900-30 by Mark Caruana
Consultancy, hosting, programming and technical assistance provided by .


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Welcome to the Friday open thread! What are ya'll doing for Passover? Any plans for Easter? 4/20? The weekend in general? Share tips, hacks, and cool things, and ask away on the Friday open thread, hosted by Hackerspace, Lifehacker's commenter run blog.
Interested in becoming an author on Hackerspace? First read this, then post in the comments below on this open thread.
Image: rebloggy


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Hydrates, conditions and protects the hair with nourishing and emollient moringa seed oil from Tanzania. Organic herbs promote lustre and body. Naturally balances the pH with organic apple cider vinegar.
Store below 30 ℃ / 86 ℉ and use within 6 months from opening
PurposeCan be applied to dry hair as an intense leave-in conditioner without weighing down the hair.
How to UseMassage a small amount into the hair after shampooing, focusing on the ends. Leave in for as long as possible (a few minutes). Rinse with warm water.
When to UseAfter shampoo.
certified organic aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, sorbitan olivate and cetearyl olivate, certified organic apple cider vinegar, moringa oleifera seed oil, d-panthenol (pro-vitamin b5)
, aroma (proprietary blend of essential oils), non-gmo lecithin, certified organic urtica dioica (nettle) extract, certified organic equisetum arvense (horsetail) extract, certified organic rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, certified organic arctium lappa (burdock) extract, certified organic salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, certified organic pelargonium graveolens (geranium) essential oil, certified organic pogostemon cablin (patchouli) essential oil


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Barm Brack
Coleman Andrews
The Country Cooking of Ireland
Published by Chronicle
There's some confusion about the correct name for this fruit-filled tea bread. The undisputed part of the name, "brack," comes from the Irish breac, meaning "speckled" (the speckles being the sultanas and currants). Barm is the yeasty foam that rises to the top of beer and other alcoholic beverages as they ferment, and it was once used to leaven bread, becoming a latter-day Irish synonym for baker's yeast. Because this tea bread is typically leavened with yeast instead of baking soda, "barm brack" would seem to be a reasonable description of it. But it's also possible that a better name for it is barn brack, "barn" perhaps deriving from the Irish bair in (or bairgin), an obscure word for "loaf." Whatever it's called, this bread is traditionally eaten at Halloween, when a token is baked into it: The eater may find a ring (predicting impending marriage), a button or thimble (portents of bachelor-or spinsterhood, respectively), or a coin (presaging wealth). In earlier, less sensitive times, items might also have included a rag or a dried pea (for poverty) or a matchstick (for an abusive spouse). Today, the tokens are usually wrapped in waxed paper or cloth, to lessen the possibility that they will be accidentally ingested, thereby provoking a different prognosis altogether.
Makes1 loaf
Cooking Methodbaking
Total Timeunder 4 hours
Recipe Courseside dish, starch
Dietary Considerationhalal, kosher, peanut free, soy free, vegetarian
Mealbreakfast, brunch, tea
Taste and Texturechewy, fruity, sweet
Type of Dishbread, yeast bread
- Two ¼-oz/7-g packets active dry yeast
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 4½ cups/450 g flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup/150 g sultanas (golden raisins)
- 1 cup/150 g dried currants
- ½ cup/40 g candied orange peel or lemon peel (or a combination), finely chopped
Put the yeast and 1 Tbsp of the sugar into a medium bowl and gradually stir in 2 cups of warm water (about 100°F/40°C). Set aside for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture becomes frothy.
Meanwhile, rub the butter into the flour in a large bowl until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in 4 Tbsp of the sugar, the ginger, nutmeg, salt, sultanas, currants, and candied peel. Make a well in the center, pour in the yeast mixture, and stir the liquid into the flour in a spiral motion, from the middle outward, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until elastic and just slightly sticky, about 5 minutes. Put the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface again and knead lightly for a minute or two, then shape it into a large round or oval and put it on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C (Gas Mark 8).
Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Tent with foil, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/175°C (Gas Mark 4) and bake about 40 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Dissolve the remaining 1 Tbsp of sugar in 1 Tbsp of hot water and brush over the loaf. Return the loaf to oven for 5 to 7 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
2009 Colman Andrews


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According to a recently published report by IMARC Group titled "Black Gram Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022", the global black gram market exhibited a CAGR of 6.7% during 2009-2016, reaching a value of 2.8 Million Tons in 2016. Black grams are a kind of lentils with little black seeds and white interior. They acquire their dark hue as a result of high concentration of an antioxidant called anthocyanin. Black grams belong to Asiatic Vigna group and are cultivated mostly in South Asian countries. Falling under the category of warm-season crops, they grow best in loamy soil. Black grams also help in enriching soil nitrogen content and comparatively take short time period to mature, around 90-120 days. The report finds that the market is expected to reach a value of 14 Million Tons by 2022.
Request a free sample copy of the report: http://www.imarcgroup.com/request?type=report&id=660&flag=B
The primary factor driving the demand for black gram is their high level of nutritional content which include considerable amount of essential vitamins, minerals, proteins and dietary fibre. They offer several health benefits such as improving immunity, strengthening the nervous system, optimizing digestion, protecting cardiovascular health, boosting energy, reducing pain and inflammation, aiding skin health, preventing diabetes and building strong bones. Owing to their therapeutic and healing qualities, black grams are also used in Ayurvedic medication. Apart from this, they contribute in enhancing the taste and aroma of several products such as soups, sauces, dips and spreads. The flour and fractions of the split black gram also find applications in a variety of industries such as batter and breading, bakery, beverages, meat and snack food industry. Some of the other factors currently fostering the growth of the global black gram market include rising population, increasing disposable incomes, growing health consciousness among consumers, changing lifestyles and growing demand, particularly in emerging countries.
The report provides a comprehensive segmentation of the global black gram market on the basis of key regions. Currently, India represents the world's largest producer of black gram accounting for the majority of the global production. It is followed by Myanmar and Pakistan. The report also covers the competitive landscape of the market and finds that it is fragmented in nature with a number of global and local players. The report further provides a detailed value chain analysis of black gram. This encompasses all the activities in the value chain such as cultivation, procurement, processing, sales and distribution.
Click here or summary of the report with TOC: http://www.imarcgroup.com/prefeasibility-report-black-gram-processing-plant
The report provides a comprehensive analysis for setting up a black gram processing plant. The report covers all the requisite aspects of the black gram industry and provides an in-depth analysis of the market, industry performance, processing and manufacturing requirements, project cost, project funding, project economics, expected returns on investment, profit margins, etc. It also offers SWOT, Value Chain and Porter's Five Forces analysis and regional segmentation followed by an analysis of the competitive landscape. This report is a must-read for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are planning to foray into the black gram industry in any manner.
Browse related reports:
Pulses Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022
Fava Beans Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022
About Us
IMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.
IMARC's information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the company's expertise.
Media Contact
Company Name: IMARC Group
Contact Person: Jim Clarke
Email: email@example.com
Phone: +1-631-791-1145
Country: United States
Website: http://www.imarcgroup.com/


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- Double Wall Vacuum Insulated
- Screw-on Lid
- Fits in standard cupholder
- Handwash Only
20 oz. Heavy duty double wall stainless steel vacuum insulated tumbler. Features a clear as screw-on lid with color matched pp flip top spout cover. Powder coat finish with copper lining and brushed silver accents; double wall 201/304 stainless steel. Fits in standard cup holders.
Not microwave safe; hand wash only.
Additional information
|15 oz
|4 × 4 × 8 in
Commitment to QualityJudicial Watch has dedicated a significant effort to meticulously source all the products in the Judicial Watch Store. In most cases the items in the store are Made in America, showcasing the highest quality of manufacturing available in the world. In the few cases where the items were not manufactured in the U.S. we worked with either well-known brands or local small businesses & US companies to design the product to meet the highest quality standards. We hope that you value our commitment to American Made products, and are willing to support Judicial Watch in our effort to take pride in the American workforce. 100% of the profits of this store go to support American Jobs, and protect the U.S. Constitution. Thank You for Your Support!
Returns and ExchangesIf you are not satisfied with your Judicial Watch Purchase we would be happy to refund the purchase amount for the product, LESS the cost of shipping. There are a few important things to keep in mind when returning a product you purchased. You can return unwanted items within 14 days of purchase of your goods.
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If you wish to exchange the item purchased for another item of greater cost, please begin the RMA process or contact us via email to request the RMA. We will refund the cost of the item once it has been received allowing you the option of ordering the greater cost item.


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Gabriel The Orator
It is not uncommon for Gabriels to
sophistry in the service of their goals, truly epic feats like
sitting on the couch or watching television. In these situations, I
can be counted on to act as his barely responsive interlocutor.
When we hatch these ridiculously elaborate plots, I'm thinking specifically of PAX now, I never imagine it all the way to the back-breaking physical labor. It is as though I secretly believe that they will never happen. It's similar to how one day we thought it would be nice to have a toy drive, and then all of the sudden we were spending upwards of ten hours a day opening presents. I'll continue to plan capers of this sort, with the expectation that I will be eternally surprised when they emerge from their ethereal coccoons. Something very large is about to do exactly that, and I am having a hard time coming to terms with it.
Pre-registraton ended with 1337 attendees in total, and though I ordinarily shun leet-speak that number clearly implies the blessing of gaming deities. We were here until midnight stuffing two-thousand bags full of convention goodies. Could all of those really represent people? Also, have you ever seen the Meydenbauer Center? It is the sort of place that legitimizes any event you hold at it. You feel important just being there. It has a beautiful theater in it where you can hold a perfectly legitimate Final Fantasy themed piano recital. It has escalators. Yeah, it's that kind of place.
Then, when I'm already freaking out, the Seattle Times does a work-up on us for the business section. You might find it interesting to see a somewhat alien perspective on what we do here. There's only one portion of the article that I'd take issue with, and that is the part about "selling the company." Without any context, that makes it look as though we're just here pruning this website so that it will eventually be acceptable to some wealthy suitor. The reality is that we understand we can't do this forever. At this future point, long after you are concerned with its fate and we have been consigned to history, maybe someone else will own the site. That's basically that.
If you've seen us at cons or whatever, you've probably already met the Robert mentioned in that piece - he's also been in the strip a couple times. He acts as a buffer between us and the "business" portion of making comics. He also makes sure we don't inadvertently sell Penny Arcade, and before you laugh at that, please understand that this is something we actually did at one point. I don't really want to be good at business, so we could either elect to be taken advantage of by people who are or bind to us a monster of our own. We chose the option that sounded the most like necromancy.
In the meantime, we continue to make comics about genitals while our hideous servants create empires around them. I really wouldn't have it any other way. Although, I do wish that I could have five consecutive minutes without the fear of every good thing in my life evaporating.
(CW)TB out.
i'm premeditating crime of a personal kind


text: Eagle Scout project http://www.cabq.gov/pets/images/landon_lovesee_project_014.jpg/view http://www.cabq.gov/@@site-logo/seal-small.png Eagle Scout project Click to view full-size image… Size: 18KB AWD COVID-19 Service Changes The City of Albuquerque is closely monitoring the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. At this time, the Animal Welfare Department has made changes to its daily operations. View Changes Navigation After-Hours Emergency Care Education & Resources Adoption Programs & Services Shelters & Rescue Groups News from Animal Welfare Our Department Animal Welfare Events Animal Welfare Reports Report an Aggressive Dog Changes to Animal Welfare Department Daily Operations Animal Welfare Department Requesting Donations for Homeless Pets in Care Mobile Unit images sliderimages Eagle Scout project Latest from Twitter Tweets by @cabq Contact Information Carolyn Ortega Director Animal Welfare Dial 311 (505-768-2000) Full contact information


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Students want to carry out Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream
Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did 50 years ago, area students shared their dreams Monday morning.
The young minds had the attention of Wisconsin's top politicians.
VIDEO: Students share how they want to carry MLK's dream
Seventh-grader Marco Humphrey wrote a poem that won him a spot at this year's YMCA Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.
Wisconsin's governor, Milwaukee's mayor and the county executive were all watching.
"And they're helping our life in Milwaukee come together to stop black people from drug dealing and thieves and stealing to end all of that," Humphrey said.
That's the dream for the seventh-grader.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett shared a similar vision with police reporting 106 homicides in 2013, compared with 91 the year before.
"That means to put down the illegal guns and to stay away from gangs, and that's certainly part of the contemporary visions of Martin Luther King Jr.," Barrett said.
Gov. Scott Walker said turning that violent trend around also means a focus on education.
"One of the best ways to live out Dr. King's legacy is to really excel in school, go and pursue a career and then give back to the community," Walker said.
Humphrey is ready to give back and carry out King's dream.
"I want to be a judge," he said.
Humprhrey, along with the other winners of the essay and poetry contest, also received a savings bond.


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Opinion: Marco Rubio's State of the Union Moment
Columnist Dan Henninger on the GOP's choosing Marco Rubio to give the party's response to this year's State of the Union address. Photos: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the center marker Rubio WhatsApp this week to give the Republican response ... to present a bomb is upcoming State of the Union address so ... is Senator Rubio becoming the face of the GOP ... Wonderland Columnist Dan Henninger is here ... said and ... is seen ... he looks like he is of Mary seems to be you know taking this job on he's appearing everywhere he's become your own world again update on immigration and now he's doing the state of the Union response ... you know I wrote a couple weeks ago that I think the Republican party does need a party spokesman somebody who sort of stands and represents what the party stands for and says that over and over again ... that doesn't look like that's going to happen so I'd be happy to settle ... quite frankly a marker Rubio was a step up and take the job ... for letting him in effect ... being that person ... Rubio is articulate ... Rubio is speaks well above party principles ... and I would think that that's what we're going to hear in this state of the Union response of very twelve shape articulated and probably ... focused response to President Obama wants to listen to how another articulate Republican I gave his response of former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels have a listen ... one present Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but gray ... the most no one is heart that this is not true ... the president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continuing American tonight ... but he was elected on a promise to fix them ... they cannot claim that the last three years of made things anything but worse ... the percentage of Americans with the job is that the lowest in decades ... one in five man of prime working age and ... nearly half of all persons under thirty ... did not go to work today ... Mitch Daniels articulate well spoken guy everything he said there was true but we didn't went ... nowhere on Tuesday when settle ... on what can you learn from that went into the Mitch Daniels response was about as good as it gets Mitch Daniels is a triptych speechwriter and he really knows how to put ideas across ... nonetheless that was back in January twenty twelve Mitch Daniels did not run for the presidency on for Chile contender for Malcolm is matter of fact had he run ... but he showed what can be done with this format was not build this into the biggest thing the Republicans have going it simply response to the stated Union ... but what you have to keep in mind is this is performance art ... and Bobby Jindal's gave that speech into thousandnine was widely panned I'd just read the speech where it was poorly organized it wasn't that he ... delivered all the Worley who is just not well done and the Republicans seem to turn this job over the people and hope they can do the best they can buy thing marker Rubio is probably gonna knock an out of the park ... whether it will carry after that remains to be seen ok Wonderland Columnist Dan Henninger on the GOP and performance art thank you for being with us ...


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Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday Singalong with Circlemending - Family
It's been a busy week with many times for family - our oldest daughter & her family were here for a visit, so talking about family while enjoying family was the theme of the last 4 days. It got me thinking about family and how that figures in to our music (at least in the Hibben home).
So there it is: today's singalong theme is "family." Now this can include songs about family or maybe songs you (or your ancestors) sang (or just enjoyed) as a family (in that case, be sure to tell the story of how it connects to the theme). Ideally, don't repeat a song that you have used in a past Sunday Singalong. (For those who may not be aware, you can include the full set of lyrics, just a verse and/or chorus, only the title, or possibly a link - to an MP3, a YouTube performance, or lyrics found on the web.)
In our household, our family includes my husband, Butch, and me, plus our 2 dogs, Buddy & Klondike (yes, we have many more human family members, but none living at home right now, at least not when I last checked). Now, when I was younger, a song our family loved was "The Hound Dog Song" . . . the version sung by the Armstrong Family of Wilmette, Illinois (George, Gerry, & their daughters Rebecca & Jennifer). This link is to a copy of the CD, recorded by "The Golden Ring" - a temporary group with the Armstrongs and a bunch of their friends - available on line, with MP3 cuts one can listen to . . . scroll down to "Hound Dog Song, The" and click on "Listen" (it's the 4th song on the playlist) . But here's a snippet:
Ev'ry time I go to town, somebody kicks my dog around,
Makes no difference if he's a hound:
Gotta quit kickin' my dog around.
So there it is: a song about a dog (definitely part of our family and, obviously, of the narrator's family in the song), that my family (growing up) loved, sung by a family. Got a favorite family song or one that deals with family? Share it here! Let's sing along!!
5 comments:
Part family... part gospel... "Will The Circle Be Unbroken?"ReplyDelete
There are loved ones
In the glory
Whose dear forms we often miss
When we close our
Earthly story
Will we join them in their bliss
Will the circle
Be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by
There's a better
Home awaitin'
In the sky, Lord, in the sky
[Written from memory, so forgive any errors.]
Here in the hills of West Virginia, this song is often sung at family reunions, gatherings, and even at funerals. But it seems to epitomize the thought of family.
Love the verse! Great ... thanks!ReplyDelete
Jean, my parents really like Tom Jones and me too. This song is beautiful and we have always heard. Also reminds me of nice evenings with my parents, drinking juice under a plum treeReplyDelete
our house, with much affection.
The Green Green Grass Of Home of Tom Jones
The old home town looks the same as I step down from the train,
And there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.
Down the road I look and there runs Mary hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
The old house is still standing tho' the paint is cracked and dry,
And there's that old oak tree I used to play on.
Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary, hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Then I awake and look around me, at four grey wall surround me
And I realize that I was only dreaming.
For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre -
Arm in arm we'll walk at daybreak.
Again I touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to see me in the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me neath the green, green grass of home.
I remember when I first heard that song - the ending shocked me & made me very sad (I was very young ... but it still has that effect on me ... but the singer may have done something very, very bad; nevertheless, that sense of family & home still says with him till the end).ReplyDelete
The songs produce different effects on us, as a child I did not know the meaning of this song because he did not understand English, just enjoy the voice and the music .... not if it happened to you but you feel that there are songs for sunny days , or songs for rainy days? always happens to me .... this is for a sunny day of summer ...ReplyDelete


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Thunderdome (drinking game)
In addition, prolonged Thunderdome participation may result in an impaired ability to drive a car or operate heavy machinery.
Ah, the 80s. Plenty of Coke, Madonna, Reagan, and one monumental cinematic offering. That classic work of art is known as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome -- a film heralded for being amazingly awesome for the first 45 minutes, and then incredibly shitty for the remaining 50. Now, instead of enjoying those first 45 only to suffer for almost another whole hour, why not REALLY enjoy the first 45 and slip out of consciousness when it becomes terrible? Sounds great, right?
Well friend, it is great. Its stay-at-home-Saturday-night great. When attempted with the proper attitude, you too can become elated by this lopsided masterpiece. Below is your challenge:
- Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - preferably on DVD, because it comes jam packed with extras like the film's theatrical trailer and awesome cast and crew bios.
- Alcohol - As much as possible, whatever your preference. You know yourself, get something you can't possibly handle. And no, BEER DOES NOT COUNT. Yeah, of course you love beer. Beer, beer, beer, beer, beer. Quit with the god damn beer, be a real man, get yourself something as stiff, tough, and as rugged as our hero, good old Anti-Semitic Max.
- Comfortable Seating - You might be there for a while.
- Paper Cup - If you gunna spew...spew into this.
- Drugs (Optional) - The Alcohol will be more than enough, but if you're a wild man, you do what you do.
Now, like Thunderdome, the rules are simple: drink when it says to, and drink it straight from the bottle. That is all.
Insert your DVD, VHS, Betamax or Laserdisc now, and read on.
Round 1: One of the Living[edit]
Okay, now engage the play button on your remote, or go and press it manually if the remote is currently missing.
Take a big starter-offer drink for the sonic brilliance entitled One of the Living, performed by co-star extraordinare Tina Turner. Take the drink even before you hear the song (an experienced Thunderdome competitor can down his drink in the few seconds of ambient sound right before the song's first note). Take half a drink when Tina screams "YAY YAY YA-HOO!!"[1]
DO NOT drink for the pilot and his kid. They suck.
Alright, enter Max. One drink. And another half drink when the radioactive water salesman yells "Have a nice DAY!"'
Now, Max enters Bartertown. There are a few drink-worthy moments in this opening exposition, but drinking for every instance would be unwise (as we've only been through about 7 minutes of the film). This may be the time to engage in the optional drug use described in the Materials list.
Round 2: Aunty Entity[edit]
You can drink for Ton Ton, the blind saxophonist, but only if you enjoy his tragic refrain.
Put down the joint, its Tina time. Yes, the queen of soul, Ms. Turner if you're nasty. Drink immediately following the words "But he's just a raggedy-man!"
Allow the drinks to settle while Tina and her robust henchman get through a bit more plot exposition. Take another half drink for the rockin' Shit Shoveler's Theme, playing upon Max's arrival in the Underworld. Take a full shot when Max first encounters Master-Blaster, but only after Master shouts "Me King A-rab!" (Current Drink Count: 4 1/2, not including optionals | Time Elapsed: approximtely 18 minutes)
Smoke a cigarette during Master-Blaster's embargo. You probably already realized that you want one, suddenly. Prepare yourself for hell.
Round 3: Welcome to Thunderdome[edit]
Well, time for the main event. Keep on your feet: there is a mandatory half shot prior to entering Thunderdome, when one of Tina's goons yells "MASTER-BLASTER, LISTEN TO THE LAAWWW!!"
Now, Thunderdome is game's grand equalizer. The object is to begin drinking as soon as Tina introduces Thunderdome, and to not stop until the match is over. That means taking drinks through the ring announcers entire speech, all the chanting, and the entire epic battle between Blaster and The Man with No Name.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: dyin' time's here! Two men enter, one man leaves! This is Thunderdome; death is listening, and will take the first man that screams.
Round 4: The Breaking Point[edit]
If you met the challenge of Thunderdome, there is absolutely no way you should be able to read this. If this is the case, you've made it, friend! Give yourself a pat on the back when you wake up, 50 refreshing,[2] garbage-free minutes later. For it is once Max is exiled from Bartertown that the irritating pack of children are introduced, and from there, Mad Max ceases to be interesting whatsoever.
However, if you're still not fully tanked, or chose to ignore the rules and/or pussied out on some of your drinking responsibilities, the only remedy is of course, continued drinking. Perhaps try switching to a stronger liquid. Never fear though; there is about 10 minutes of filler before Max encounters those annoying-ass children.
WARNING: Make doubly sure that you do in fact drink enough to sleep through the end of the film. Trust me, its quite a frightening situation, waking up bewildered with a flock of feral rugrats yelling, the lame pilot and his lame son doing things, and something involving all terrain vehicles... While hammered, this will confuse greatly, and may send you into a television-smashing rage, just to get the madness to cease. Avoid this predicament: drink heavily, and oftenly.
See also[edit]


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SAN FRANCISCO — Vera Farmiga isn't exactly a scream queen, but she is making noise in the horror genre.
On TV, Farmiga plays the mother meanest in the Psycho prequel show Bates Motel. Previously, the 39-year-old was featured in the supernatural thrillers Orphan and Joshua.
Her latest immersion into the spooky zone arrives with The Conjuring.
So far, she's OK with being associated with fright-night features.
"Out of a roster of 40-plus films in my career, there might be four you can count as genre," Farmiga said during an interview at a San Francisco hotel suite.
She had her break-out in Martin Scorsese's 2006 crime film The Departed with Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio and earned a supporting actress Oscar nomination for her part in the 2009 satire Up in the Air opposite George Clooney.
Still, there's no denying she's found a niche in the world of scary movies.
In James Wan's The Conjuring, Farmiga portrays Lorraine Warren, the real-life clairvoyant wife of demonologist Ed Warren (played by Patrick Wilson).
Together, the Warrens confronted demom spirits from the 1950s onward (Ed died in 2006). Authors of multiple books on the paranormal, they investigated more than 4,000 alleged incidents, including the famous Amityville haunting that inspired two major studio films in 1979 and 2005.
The Conjuring chronicles — with some dramatic licence — one of the Warrens' most challenging cases.
In the movie version, the investigators end up confronting an evil entity trying to possess a family in an antiquated Rhode Island farmhouse in 1970.
Ron Livingston plays the husband and father of five daughters who feels helpless against the phantom. Lili Taylor is the wife and mother most affected by the possession.
As the Warrens delve into the case, they realize the demon ghost is more powerful than they anticipated.
The slow-build terror is expertly exploited by Wan, who is best known for co-creating the Saw series and directing Insidious and its sequel, due out in the fall.
Yet for Farmiga the eeriness of The Conjuring was secondary to defining the personal story of the Warrens. Lucky for her, Lorraine Warren agreed to discuss the case.
Fortunately for Wan, the actress agreed to play the part because she liked the script and wanted to work opposite Wilson.
"I have been a big fan and I've had a huge crush on Vera since Running Scared," said the director referring to the 2006 crime thriller. "I wanted somebody with strength but who could be vulnerable at the same time, and I knew she could do that."
It turned out she managed the difficult task thanks to a special motivation that informed her portrayal.
"What I loved most about the role is that I got to embody this fascinating woman," Farmiga said of Lorraine Warren, now 83.
The actress says she was overloaded with information from the Warrens' many books, taped lectures and footage of special events.
"But the more I got into the Conjuring script, the more I saw it as their love story," Farmiga said of the couple. "The union between Lorraine and Ed was ordained. It was a match made in heaven."
"It's so rare to see a couple who honour and respect each other after decades together. They also had this compassion and empathy for others and I think that is at the heart of The Conjuring."
Farmiga goes to great lengths to show it. She always has been all about extra effort since making her professional acting debut as an understudy in the Broadway play Taking Lives.
Hardly ego inflating, the experience was still enough to get her hooked.
Throughout the 1990s she worked on stage and TV and won bit parts in movies. She had a small but pivotal role in the 2000 romantic drama Autumn in New York with Richard Gere and Winona Ryder and finally a lead in 2002's Love in the Time of Money followed by her acclaimed performance in 2004's Down to the Bone.
Her police psychiatrist in 2006's The Departed and her Oscar nod for her travelling sales executive in 2009's Up in the Air elevated her status considerably.
It also afforded her the opportunity to direct and star in 2011's Higher Ground, a movie profile about a woman who struggles with her Christian faith.
Indeed, she sees similarities in Higher Ground and The Conjuring, which references exorcism and religion.
"I had never explored the spirit realm other than maybe Higher Ground," she said. "But The Conjuring defines the theoretical and spiritual realm in a very compelling way."
Meanwhile, there is her role as the messed-up mother Norma Louise Bates opposite Freddie Highmore's Norman Bates in the acclaimed series heading into its second season next year.
Unlike The Conjuring, Bates Motel tends to be more clinical in showcasing terrifying emotional instability.
"What's so monstrous is human madness and neurological dysfunction," said Farmiga of the Bates Motel characters.
"In The Conjuring, we are dealing with the inhuman, so they are two totally different stories and two different kinds of horror."
The Conjuring opens July 19
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Happy Friday!!
I will not be sending out an email next week since it is a three day week, therefore you will get two weeks of information today! I have some sad news, we will not be able to go to the theatres for the movie Wonder. The Wing Theatre couldn't get that movie and the theatres in Bismarck start showings at 4:30. So, we will just have to wait until Wonder comes out on Red Box and watch it in class! You can take your student to see it in theatres; I wouldn't want to wait either! Just as long as they don't give anything away!!
For Science, we have been working on Lesson 4, which is about measuring length. We have been using different tools (tape measure, ruler, meter stick, etc.) and deciding which measuring tool fits for different items. Lesson 4 will be finished on Monday and entered into the grade book on Monday.
For Social Studies, we have still been learning about communities. This week, we talked about the city called Timbuktu located in Africa. We have compared and contrasted these two communities, and found that Africa is a lot different than America. We also did an activity about zooming in on our location from outer space to help the students understand the difference between a continent, country, state, and city. These two activities have been combined together and entered into the grade book. On Tuesday, we will work on a scholastic news and learn more about Thanksgiving before the long weekend.
On Wednesday morning we will do an art assignment. On Wednesday, I will be sending home three sets of art work, all themed for Thanksgiving.
For your students math and reading updates, please check your weekly email!
Have a wonderful weekend and a fun filled Thanksgiving!


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Somerset County man accused of stabbing his brother
Man facing charge of aggravated assault
The Somerset County Sheriff's Department says a man is facing a charge of aggravated assault in connection with the stabbing of his brother.
Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi said at 1:57 Saturday morning, the department received a report of an assault on Pierce Hill Road in Moscow. A corporal and deputies responded to the scene.
According to Gottardi, once authorities got to the scene, they determined there had been a fight between two brothers at the home, and one of the brothers had been allegedly stabbed by the other brother.
Gottardi said the injured brother, who is 32 years old, had a serious stab wound in his back and some cuts on his head. Emergency crews took him to Redington-Fairvview General Hospital. As of 4:30 a.m. Sunday, the brother, whose name has not been released, was reportedly in stable condition.
Deputies arrested the other brother, 27-year-old Nathan Corcoran of Moscow, and charged him with aggravated assault.
Gottardi said authorities found the knife they believe was used. It was a large kitchen knife.
Authorities are continuing to investigate this incident, and Gottardi said authorities may file more charges once the District Attorney's Office reviews the case.


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Article content
Alvin Law believes in the power of positive attitude. He has built a career out of telling people to live the best life they can with the cards they have been dealt, just as he does.
"People take things for granted, and when you have no arms you tend not to do that," he says.
Despite growing up in an era where there was much less awareness and infrastructure for people with disabilities, Law thrived in all aspects of life. Now in his life as a motivational speaker, he has brought his story to people on five continents.
In Saskatchewan, he enjoys a near-celebrity status thanks to 21 appearances on Telemiracle. You might remember him playing the drums with his feet.
He isn't ashamed to trumpet his accomplishments, but at the same time he knows that everything he has done can largely be credited to the people who have helped him along the way — his adoptive parents, the teachers who didn't give up on him and his loving wife.
"What they accomplished, that to me is the essence of this story," he says.
Law was born in Yorkton in 1960. During her pregnancy, his mother was given thalidomide, a drug used to ease nausea and other symptoms for expectant mothers. At the time, no one knew the consequences. Law and thousands more children worldwide were born deformed or with limbs missing.
Law was given up for adoption at just five days old. Although he says audiences will often gasp when told this, he doesn't hold it against his birth parents. They were very poor and had two other children to take care of. Also, had they not done so, he never would have fallen into the care of the Laws, a Yorkton couple who raised him to embrace the things he was capable of.
From an early age, his adoptive parents forced him to learn self-sufficiency. They taught him to do almost anything with his feet.
"My mom was brilliant. She would make me do things like thread a needle, or sew buttons on a rag, to give me dexterity in my feet," Law says.
They also made sure he was a part of the community, making friends with other kids.
"I wasn't being hidden in a basement, or shut up in a room," he says.
The family lived across the street from a school in Yorkton, so it seemed natural he would go there. But this was the 1960s, and the public school system wasn't used to dealing with children with disabilities.
"Kids like me went to special-needs holding cells. That's what they were. There wasn't a curriculum, they were more like day cares," Law says.
His parents weren't having that. They were adamant he go to school with the rest of his friends, and be afforded the same opportunities.
"It was my dad who ended up talking to the principal and basically saying, 'Look, we don't know what he's capable of,'" Law says.
He did well in school. The other children already knew him from around town so he doesn't remember being bullied until later, when he moved to middle school. Even then, he chalks the teasing up to standard adolescent stuff. It passed quickly once he gained more confidence and showed what he could do.
"It just amazed me how he could get around," says Ken Sherwin, a former guidance counsellor and principal at Law's high school.
In particular, Sherwin remembers Law's positive attitude.
"He was always happy. I never can ever remember him being upset about anything," Sherwin says.
Law credits his father with teaching him that anger was never the right path. It's something he carries through to this day as he speaks to crowds.
"I'm not up on stage bemoaning my life. I'm celebrating my life," he says.
It was during his high school years that Law first came into the public spotlight. He was attending Camp Easter Seals, which caters to children with disabilities. A CBC television crew came out to do a news story and got footage of Law shooting a bow and arrow with his feet. The day after the story aired in 1976, Law was recruited as the Easter Seals "Timmy," an ambassadorial position, for the next year.
As fate would have it, 1977 was the first year for Telemiracle. His work as a Timmy made him a natural choice for the program. People all over the province saw him play the drums alongside Brian Sklar and Prairie Fire.
"A lot of people had never seen that," Law says.
For a time, he thought he would become a musician. He was able to play trombone with the help of a special stand that attached to a desk, and was even selected as first chair for the all-star band at a national high school competition. There was interest from some American universities, and talk of scholarships.
A conversation with Sherwin got him thinking in a different direction.
"He said I should think about getting a job where having no arms was going to be inconsequential. What we came up with was broadcasting," Law says.
He attended Mount Royal in Calgary, then moved to Regina and worked as a radio DJ, flipping vinyl records. He liked the job, but would soon switch careers and head down the path to the career he still has today.
Law started working with the Saskatchewan Abilities Council in 1981. The UN had declared it the International Year of Disabled Persons, and Law was hired to speak at schools.
Then in 1985, Yorkton hosted Canada's first-ever national youth leadership conference. As a former resident, Law was a natural choice for the program.
"The people there really thought he was something else. That was kind of the springboard to everything he is doing now," Sherwin says.
His name started spreading. Finally, in 1988, Law decided to become a full-time professional speaker.
He was successful enough to get by, but had some trouble with the business side of things. In an era before the Internet, he found it hard to co-ordinate everything while being on the road so much.
"My reputation was getting out there that I was a really good speaker if you could track me down," he says.
A turning point came in 1991 when he met Darlene, who is now his wife. She had seen him speak at a conference in Alberta and was introduced when they were hanging out with mutual friends afterward.
"I think what got me more than anything was his total acceptance of who and what he was," Darlene says.
"There's able-bodied people who are not that comfortable with who they are."
Thing moved quickly. They met in March, went on their first date in June and moved in together in October. They were married in 1993.
Darlene, who describes herself as very organized, saw immediately that she could help Law with the business side of his career.
"The first time I went to his place I noticed a large pile of paper on his living room floor. When I starting looking through it I realized it wasn't just mail. There was invitations to speak, contracts, cheques, everything," she says.
"As good as Law is on stage, that's how bad he was with the whole business thing."
She took over the management side and they have never looked back. Law went from speaking almost exclusively for students to teachers associations, then other associations, then corporations and conferences. They moved to Calgary in 2000 and Law joined the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers.
Meanwhile he was working on writing his life story, an 11-year process he says was the hardest thing he has ever done. Here too, Darlene was instrumental. He gave her his first manuscript, which weighed in at 900 pages.
"She read it and said it was horrible," Law says, laughing.
Darlene encouraged him to find the same voice he uses on stage. Finally, in 2007, he published Law's Laws of Life, which recently went for its seventh print run.
Law says he has done more than 5,000 speaking engagements. He does around 120 a year and spends about 170 days a year travelling.
"What I have found most fascinating is my story is universal," he says.
"I can go to Thailand, and use a translator, and they appreciate my story just as much as if I'm in Toronto."
Law tries to make his presentations less about his disability and more about positivity. He is sometimes self-conscious about the show-offiness of playing drums or the piano with his feet, but understands the value it provides for his message.
"What people always say is, 'Wow, if you can do that, what's my excuse?' " he says.
He has no intention of slowing down. Travelling and speaking are what he loves to do.
"That's all I can hope for, is to continue to do this until the end of my life," Law says.
Although much of his program stays the same, there is polish and evolution that comes from his life experience.
"I'm a more mature version of Alvin Law, and I think as time goes by that will only grow," he says.
As long as he is able, Law hopes to use his personal story of perseverance to help others make the best of their own lives.
"It's a very big responsibility that I've never taken lightly," he says.
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